Questions about DR public ed.

paleostone

New member
Apr 16, 2004
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I am a teacher in an inner city elementary school in G.R. Michigan with 87% Hispanic students. I am taking a grad class to get my ESL endorsement as I work with the kids that are functional in English but as a second language. (I admire their ability to know two languages as Spanish is the only class I ever fluncked was HS Spanish :p ) As a requirement for the class I have to do a case study of a non English culture and write a paper. Three of the teachers I work with are DR or have lived and worked there and 1 of my students is DR so guess what I chose as my subject. Anyway I need to ask some questions about the education system in the DR. I don't really know where to start and what to ask because I know so little about it. What I am looking for is information that will help me better understand my students and be a better teacher for them. The two DR teachers I know are married and yet very different. One uses more "American education techniques" while the other does more of what I assume is DR education techniques" Students do more memorizing. There is little group work and the classroom is very teacher directed. Can any of you give me any input? Even direction on what questions to ask? My students are rather poor. What educational epectations will the parents have that might be different than American parents. I already know that I get more respect from my DR parents than many teachers get from American parents and many expect teachers to use physical punishment and don't realize that is illegal in the US. What are some other cultural misconceptions that could arise? For those of you that are DR but learned English in American schools what was the hardest part? What linguistic mishaps occured. What words, sounds, or concepts were hardest? Did you have bilingual ed and learned to read in two languages or were put into an "into English" only program. What are your greatest regrets? Okay that is enough to start - Oh by the way I need you to PM with your Name, City and culutural heritage if I am to quote you in my paper. (Thanks :cool: the paper has to be 10 - 15 pages so keep the comments comming!!!!)
 

deelt

Bronze
Mar 23, 2004
987
2
0
While it is too late for me to respond to all your questions I suggest that you contact someone at the Dominican Studies Institute at the City University of New York. If you can get a hold of Dr. Ramona Hernandez (PhD in Sociology) she can tell you who to contact and can potentially refer you to existing papers, if any. Dr. Silvio Torres-Saillant can also probably guide you and he is at Syracuse. I can think of a few more but that is a good place to start. Both are Dominican scholars in the US.

As a person that has spoken two languages I still feel uncertain in both so it is a life long struggle. Although, it is quickly evident that my English skills are the stronger of the two. The only real problem I see is if the DR parents themselves have little to no education. They, un-like American parents, will not be able to assist their children with homework. Studies show the number of books, tv watching, participation in extracurricular activities and such has an effect but it is not to say that this is particular to Dominicas per se, but rather could be a manifestation of socio-economic class. DR can also be hands off because they trust the education system here more and assume that their sole responsibility is to make sure they get their kids to school on time, the rest is up to the school. One of the things I find is that once kids grow up here they lose their creativity. Kids in DR tend to be more articulate and creative, from my experience. I think this is grounded in that based on the census 99% of Dominicans live in urban areas in the states. Depending on the make up of the neighborhood they have limited access to play outside, or run the risk of getting into trouble. So in my opinion this could hinders their social and verbal skills if their is minimal to little interaction with a mono-linguao speaking parent. If you are interested you can do a comparison run on language isolation in the states by ethnic group. Go to the census.gov and all you need is there to get a good idea of demographic, socio-economic, and educational background. You can correlate it to housing, years in the country, etc.

Good Luck!

paleostone said:
I am a teacher in an inner city elementary school in G.R. Michigan with 87% Hispanic students. I am taking a grad class to get my ESL endorsement as I work with the kids that are functional in English but as a second language. (I admire their ability to know two languages as Spanish is the only class I ever fluncked was HS Spanish :p ) As a requirement for the class I have to do a case study of a non English culture and write a paper. Three of the teachers I work with are DR or have lived and worked there and 1 of my students is DR so guess what I chose as my subject. Anyway I need to ask some questions about the education system in the DR. I don't really know where to start and what to ask because I know so little about it. What I am looking for is information that will help me better understand my students and be a better teacher for them. The two DR teachers I know are married and yet very different. One uses more "American education techniques" while the other does more of what I assume is DR education techniques" Students do more memorizing. There is little group work and the classroom is very teacher directed. Can any of you give me any input? Even direction on what questions to ask? My students are rather poor. What educational epectations will the parents have that might be different than American parents. I already know that I get more respect from my DR parents than many teachers get from American parents and many expect teachers to use physical punishment and don't realize that is illegal in the US. What are some other cultural misconceptions that could arise? For those of you that are DR but learned English in American schools what was the hardest part? What linguistic mishaps occured. What words, sounds, or concepts were hardest? Did you have bilingual ed and learned to read in two languages or were put into an "into English" only program. What are your greatest regrets? Okay that is enough to start - Oh by the way I need you to PM with your Name, City and culutural heritage if I am to quote you in my paper. (Thanks :cool: the paper has to be 10 - 15 pages so keep the comments comming!!!!)
 

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
21,843
191
0
38
yahoomail.com
I have 4 children here in Santo Domingo

In few words,children are taught to "Memorize" here in Santo Domingo,not to think for themselves! Teachers teach from the text books.Nothing original,the same material year after year!
A popular TV show here,"9X9 Roberto",has a highschool Q & A feature.Students from two schools are asked questions about current World events,history,arts,science,geography,etc.It is histerical!!! They know absolutely NOTHING! And I am talking "How many days ,months,or weeks,in a year!! Granted,these are students from the poorer "barios' of Santo Domingo,but since all they do is memorize,you would think they could remember some "dates"!
My six year old's teacher asked my wife to come in for a meeting.She wondered if there was a "problem" with our son."He sits quietly in his chair,looks at me all the time,doesn't make any noise.He doesn't talk all the time,or fight with the other children!"
I tell my son to sit quietly in class,pay attention to the teacher,and don't yell or cause trouble for his "Profesoras"!

Teach them to think for themselves,and to solve problems!!!

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DRshooter

New member
Apr 23, 2004
107
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45
Education here is bad

The education system here is bad because there are no good teachers. Most teachers here are ignorants. It is imposible to teach what you don't know. Memorizing is the way of people that can't think...and these guys don't know how to think.
But at least the students won't shoot or stab you!! :D
 

caicos

New member
May 22, 2003
15
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So what are the qualifications for one to be a public education teacher in the DR? Surely, not just anyone can walk in off the street and be a teacher!? Are there not different criteria for elementary, middle school (junior high) and high school teachers? I understand that money is a big factor in any endeavor that is for the benefit of the public (especially public education). but what is the point of education if the person teaching is not qualified? In the US there are some unqualified teachers (not on paper because they have met their state's requirements, they are just no good at teaching), but there are enough good teachers to offset the bad ones, so generally most students are exposed to a good basic education. I hope my questions did not hijack the thread, but the answers may help the teacher in terms of having a point of reference about Dominicans' preception of education to better teach her students.